Famed American puppeteer, director, writer, and producer Jim Henson died of pneumonia on May 16, 1990 at the age of 53.

Born on September 24, 1936, James Maury “Jim” Henson began practicing his skills as a puppeteer in college. Soon after, he found a job as a producer on the popular children’s show Sesame Street. He is best known as the creator of The Muppet Show, a television program that began in 1976 and ran through 1981. The original show has since inspired many spin-off Muppet movies and television shows, most recently The Muppets which was released in theaters in 2011.

Although Jim Henson is best known as the creator of The Muppets, a ragtag group of puppet characters, he was also an Oscar nominated director, Emmy Award winning producer, and founder of the Jim Henson Company and the Jim Henson Foundation which promotes puppetry in the United States.